Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams Walkthrough & Strategy Guide

Published: Jan 22, 2006

Basics

Basic Controls

The short table below outlines the game's basic controls. While there are a lot of things to do in the game in the control realm (you can see the instruction manual for all of them), there are really only a few things you absolutely need to know to be successful at the game.

SQUARE

Attack

TRIANGLE

Oni Attack

X

Absorb Souls

R1

Lock-On to Enemy

L1

Block

L2

Switch Character

Fighting

The fighting element of Onimusha is actually quite deep, not only because there are five characters with five unique styles of fighting that you have to get used to, but also just in the realm of what you can do in battle. Mastering basic fighting techniques is vital to your success in any Onimusha game, and this title is no exception. Without having a firm grasp on what you can do in Dawn of Souls while fighting your enemies, the game's difficulty curve can go from very easy to very difficult... very quickly.

You'll be spending a vast majority of the game playing as Soki, so you'll almost definitely be most comfortable using him in battle situations above all other characters. In fact, the probability of you using other characters to fight in lieu of Soki (other than in situations where they are absolutely necessary to use) is minimal, unless you're trying to get a feel for the full gaming experience (which isn't a terrible idea). Nonetheless, you should get used to each character's style of fighting (the speeds at which they fight, their combo abilities, their strengths and weaknesses... all five characters are very specific in these and other regards).

The basic fighting technique with any character is to either go all out (if the enemies are weaker) or target specific enemies with the R1 button to focus your energies on one enemy at a time (a good idea when enemies are quick, strong, or both). Blocking with the L1 button is absolutely necessary, especially with enemies who are smarter and who themselves can and will block. If you don't use the L1 button often, you won't live long, so we have to stress the importance of blocking in the game. Every so often, you may even want to use some Oni Magic... that is explained in the section below.

One more note on fighting: Fighting will give you valuable souls of three color varieties. Red souls are possibly the most important kinds of souls, because they allow you to enhance your weapons and armor (see the "Enhancements and Shopping" section below). Yellow souls and blue souls are rarer but still important, as they refill some of your health and magic respectively, and can really get you out of tough spots. Make sure to assimilate all souls after fighting enemies, because there's not one enemy in the game that will die and not "give up the ghost," so to speak. Without souls, you can't grow stronger, and without growing stronger, you will find the game to be impossible.

Oni Magic

Oni Magic is a specific skill that each character can use that is special depending on both the character involved and the weapon they are equipped. Some weapons fascilitate Oni Magic, make it stronger or special in some way, or in some other way enhance it. Some weapons eliminate your ability to use Oni Magic all together. Because of this, be careful in analyzing the weapons you equip on your characters depending on whether Oni Magic is a primary part of your attack strategy or not (this will be discussed in slightly more detail in the "Gear" section below).

One can't use Oni Magic exclusively, nor can they get away without using it at all. You have to find a middle ground where you can use Oni Magic in tough situations without using all of your MP and hence being completely out of luck when you may need it more than ever (such as in boss fight situations). Later in the game, the Rosary of Magic will alleviate this when your MP can be slowly recovered automatically (its counterpart is the even more useful and important Rosary of Health... you can guess what that does).

Be sure to master Oni Magic combos, also, which are where the true strength of Oni Magic lies. By following Oni Magic casting with attack combos you can keep a combo going, potentially taking out 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, even 9 enemies at one time with one simple magic cast. Pretty nifty, eh?

Onimusha

A brief word on Onimusha mode: You won't get to use it too often (you only get OP late in the game), but Onimusha mode is a real lifesaver. Some boss fights (including some of the last ones in the game) are seemingly impossible unless you go into Onimusha mode. In this mode, souls are assimilated automatically, damage taken is minimal to non-existent, and damage dealt to enemies is massive. Explore the Onimusha mode but don't get too crazy with it. By saving it until you really need it, you won't waste OP, and with a full OP gauge, if you die you will be revitalized a Onimusha and brought back to life. It's a lifesaver... especially in the Dark Realm.

Gear

The major RPG element of Onimusha lies in its massive amounts of gear in weaponry and items. Additionally, each character has one piece of armor that must be upgraded and enhanced in order to raise defensive resistance to enemy attacks (more on that in the "Enhancements and Shopping" section of the basics). There are literally 20+ weapons available in the game to find and buy that can each be upgraded and have their own strengths and weaknesses. As was mentioned in the "Oni Magic" section of the basics, some weapons increase and enhance magic, while others eliminate it as an option completely. Some weapons have special effects (such as added experience gained, more red soul output from slain enemies, and elemental strengths and weaknesses, amongst others), while others are simple AP (attack power) powerhouses. But don't rely wholly on AP. Only by fully enhancing each weapon will you see the full strengths and weaknesses of each weapon in the game and will be able to make an educated choice. While it's something that's time consuming to do, we recommend that you attempt it, for it's the only way to make educated decisions.

As far as items and accessories are concerned, both play an important role. Don't overlook the power of accessories (called Apparel in the game), because they are extremely important. You can make yourself stronger to certain elements, you can add defense and offensive capabilities, et cetera. They are vital to your quest, so make sure to check out the corresponding section of this guide to see just what it is we're talking about.

Items themselves are something that should be abundant in your inventory, also. With them, you can heal yourself on the spot, increase HP, MP and OP permanently, cure poison, and do numerous other things. Healing items are especially vital, so make sure to have a good stock of them on hand at all times. You never know when you may end up needing them.

Enhancements and Shopping

One thing that you'll be doing a whole lot of in this game is enhancing your weapons and armor. Not by fighting, but by enhancing, will weapons and armor become stronger. While your character levels up by defeating enemies according to the experience points he collects, this only effects statistics such as HP and MP. Offensive and defensive strength is based wholly on the gear that is equipped, primarily in weapons and armor and supplemented by some statistical additions via any apparel equipped. Red souls in this way are the most coveted and important commodity to collect through your adventures, without which enhancing is impossible. Weapon and armor enhancements can be made via most mirrors in the game (the devices where you save your game, et cetera).

A word on shopping: Don't overlook the importance of shopping in the game. It can only be done from the various hideouts throughout the game, but the merchant in the mirror in these hideouts will be your primary source of new weapons, new apparel, and new items. He might not always have the strongest stuff on hand, but what he will have it an incredible variety to choose from, and while you'll find things on each stage to use, he'll have things you can't find anywhere else. His inventory is a great supplement to things you may otherwise find throughout your adventure, so be sure to collect that gold each slain enemy drops! It will certainly come in handy when it comes time to shop.

Revisiting and the Dark Realm

If you've played Onimusha before, the Dark Realm will be familiar to you. In Dawn of Dreams, the Dark Realm is 100 floors of pure enemy mayhem, and to get to the top you must do it all in one trip. Getting to the tenth floor, twentieth, thirtieth, and so on will net you special items. Getting to the very top with a certain character will net you the most coveted of all prizes, however - that character's strongest weapon available in the game. The going is tough, and the Dark Realm seems especially hard compared to the other Onimusha games in this particular title, but it's worth your perseverance to at least try to get to the top. Soki's friend Minokichi is the primary way you'll be able to access the Dark Realm, so talk to him at any hideout after a certain point in the game to visit. Just be ready with plenty of healing items, a strong weapon, and some time on your hands. You can leave at any time (by choosing to go to the next floor or heading back to the hideout when a particular floor's enemies are eradicated), but remember that once you leave, you'll have to start on the first floor if you decide to try again at a later time.

And since we're talking about Minokichi, we'll wrap up this guide's basics section by talking about another option he grants you immediately in the game, and that is the ability to revisit already-defeated stages. This is a vital option in the game not covered in our walkthrough. You'll no doubt notice areas of each stage that Soki can't access. These are areas for other characters to access. For instance, if you see a corpse, go back and talk to it with Tenkai to communicate with it and get a special item. If you see a hole in a wall or a crevasse, go back with Jubei because she can sneak on through. Chasms can usually be crossed via Ohatsu's grappling hook, while huge doors can be barged through with Roberto. Revisiting is vital to get some of the best weapons and items in the game, so don't neglect to do so when you can.